Movember has a deeply personal meaning to Rick Brook.
He’s sporting a moustache now to raise cash for the battle against testicular cancer after battling the deadly disease earlier this year. And he admits it gave him the fright of his life.
And now he’s urging other men never to ignore any signs and go immediately to see a doctor if they think they may have any symptoms – especially any lumps.
Rick, 30, took no time in booking an appointment with his GP when he noticed that ‘something was not normal’ in March.
He said: “One of my testicles was quite sensitive so I decided to go straight to the doctors.
“He gave me a course of antibiotics but said to come back if it didn’t clear up and when I returned two weeks later he arranged for me to see a specialist at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary who thought there was a high possibility it was cancer and then said I’d need to have surgery to remove it.
“It only took four weeks from the date I went to the GP to when I had the operation. It was very quick which I think was a blessing because it meant that I didn’t have much time to think about losing a testicle.
“I decided that I’d much rather lose a testicle rather than letting it spread.
“But the most nerve-wracking part was when I had to wait for another two weeks for biopsy results to see if it was cancer and if it had spread – I was quite frightened.”
The timing was not the best for Rick who was due to go on his honeymoon with his wife Shelley, 33.
Rick, who lives with her in Grand Cross Road in Dalton, said: “We were meant to fly out to Cape Verde but I was told not to leave home until the problem of the lump had been resolved.
“But we were able to go out on a cruise instead in July and getting it sorted out was such a big relief.”
If you're growing a Movember tache here's some inspiration - just click below for some classics!
Rick and his team of friends who are also sporting moustaches have already raised over £500 for their effort which will be split by Movember organisers between testicular and prostate cancer and mental health charities. The friends hope to raise more in the run up to their charity shave which will take place in Lockwood next month.
Rick said: “It’s a fun way to bring people together at the same time as bringing a very important message home.
“Having spoken to people about my experience I’ve found out that many people know someone who’s been affected by testicular cancer and I want to highlight how important it is for men to check themselves regularly and also to speak to others about it. It’s a silent killer in a way.
“It’s definitely not something that anyone should be ashamed about talking about.”
To follow Rick’s efforts and to make a donation to his team, visit http://uk.movember.com/mospace/10128753
